Soros, a Hungarian-born veteran of finance who made a name for himself in the early 1990s with a bet against the British pound, has in recent years stepped back from the day-to-day management of investments. But he returned to trading in June 2016 with a series of bearish calls, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

Soros' fortune increased from $24.9 billion in the 2016 ranking.

James Simons, the founder of Renaissance Technologies, and Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates, were the second and third-richest hedge fund managers in the Forbes ranking with personal fortunes of $18 billion and $16.8 billion, respectively.

The wealthiest person in the wider finance and investments community, according to Forbes, is Warren Buffett (pictured above), the founder of Berkshire Hathaway, with a net worth of $75.6 billion. Other notable names in the top 10 include the investor Carl Icahn on $16.6 billion; Abigail Johnson, the president and CEO of Fidelity Investments, with $14.4 billion; and the hedge fund manager Steven Cohen on $13 billion.